Chevrolet Doesn't 'Need' a Mid-Engined Corvette

Does Chevy need a mid-engine Corvette and Cadillac, a mid-engine sports car? You can't have Ford selling a $450,000 GT while GM has only a Z06, correct?

Pandelis Maroulis, Cleveland, Ohio

Well, neither Chevrolet nor Cadillac "needs" a mid-engine car. A mid-engine Corvette would likely coexist with the regular model but be priced at least $30,000 to $40,000 higher, my guess, about $130,000 to $150,000. A logical assumption would be 700 to 750 hp, massive torque, and decent fuel economy. GM won't do it unless it's a world-beater, so we should expect it to suck the doors off all the Europeans (Veyron excluded) and the Ford GT, which, while a nice car, would soon seem poor value. A possible Cadillac execution would have to exceed the Corvette and would be priced higher. I'm all for it, and I definitely "need" at least the Corvette.

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What's your opinion of the Buick brand at the moment, and do you think we might potentially see a high-horsepower, rear-wheel-drive car from them anytime soon?

Tim Rosser Lynchburg, Virginia

The Buick brand is in the best shape it's seen for decades. Design and product excellence, especially refinement and silence, have moved the perception of Buick into genuine luxury territory. I believe a top-of-the-line rear-drive car is possible, using the Cadillac CT6 architecture. China would love that car, but it may be a low priority in the product portfolio, since everything has to be crossovers these days.

While the current trend of cheap fuel is enjoyable, how long do you suspect we can continue in the modern-day muscle-car era of 700-plus-hp Hellcats, 650-hp Corvettes, and 500-plus-hp Mustangs?

Mathew Mullen Tucson, Arizona

I think cheap fuel will continue for quite a while, and those cars, especially GM's small-blocks with cylinder deactivation, are becoming vastly more fuel-efficient. There will always be a minority of buyers who want the most potent car they can afford and are willing to accept a bit more fuel expense. It will be the mandatory, standardized autonomous driving module that will put an end to the era, relegating high-performance cars to private tracks.

Will world governments and the automobile sector ever reach an agreement on creating an actual infrastructure of hydrogen and electric stations for those who wish to embrace these environmentally friendly technologies?

Rick Trnka Winnipeg, Manitoba

Probably not in our lifetime. Hydrogen is especially tough to transport and prevent boil-off. Electric vehicles will eventually be charged through embedded inductive rails in the freeway. Affordable EVs will have ranges of 400 to 500 miles in 10 years, obviating the need for a dense network of charging stations. Even with "quick charge" times of 25 to 30 minutes, several EVs showing up at once means someone will have to wait a few hours. That's hard to overcome. (I hear stories of Volt owners in charging queues being told to "buzz off; you've got gas" by the pure-EV owners.)

Bob Lutz has been The Man at several car companies. Ask him about cars, the auto industry, or life in general.